127.
“army… ?”
I looked at the title of the case file and slightly frowned.
This incident seemed to have taken place in the military.
Then, Seo In-na immediately added an additional explanation.
“Yeah, that happened in the GOP too.”
“GOP?”
Are you talking about the barbed wire?
I also went to the army, but I wasn’t at the front line like that, so it was a place I hadn’t been to even during my active duty.
But I thought I would go there now.
“Are we in charge of the case that happened in the military?”
“then. Actually, it’s a place I go to often. There was a war only a few decades ago, and the DMZ is also a place that has been neglected for a long time. There are often places where traces of it remain.”
That part was a bit unexpected.
Although the police wouldn’t be treated the same as civilians.
Still, to go to the GOP and investigate.
Of course, there is a special feature called exorcism, but is it okay?
“Doesn’t the military hire exorcists?”
So I asked.
Then Seo In-na opened her mouth with an ambiguous expression.
“On the surface, yes. Having an exorcist directly belong to the military is a violation of the agreement.”
“A pact?”
“Let’s not use power related to exorcism for military purposes, it’s like an international agreement like that.”
I seemed to know roughly what it was.
There is also an agreement not to use certain conventional weapons, but it seems to be an exorcism version of that.
“Does it hold up well?”
“Of course not. Most of the time, when a real war breaks out, it doesn’t matter. That’s why we are here.”
I nodded.
Police are a belligerent organization internationally recognized for their right to engage the enemy.
Even though its purpose is to maintain public order, it is said that it can be mobilized at any time in times of war.
In other words, from the point of view of the government that runs the exorcism police, it is not just the solution to the exorcism case.
Even at the national security level, it was equipped with the minimum defense against exorcism.
“anyway… That’s why we go to the army a lot. Not to mention solving cases, I also visit a lot for security reasons. If an exorcist attempts to infiltrate, it is the same exorcist’s job to stop it. Even just me, there must be dozens of barriers around that barbed wire fence?”
Seo In-na said that, as if she had already been to a place similar to this many times.
In response, I turned my bitter gaze to the file.
“hmm… ”
The content of the case itself was simple.
Cameras monitoring the GOP.
An anomaly was occurring on one of the cameras.
However, when a person actually visits the site to check the site, the video flickers once and then returns to normal.
“Is it smaller than I thought?”
I heard that it was an exorcism in the GOP, so I wondered if a ghost would shoot a gun in the middle of the night.
The incident was literally all that the video from the camera was strange.
“Not yet. But I can’t just let it go. Above all, it is a sensitive area.”
“… … ”
“And even from an exorcism point of view, constantly distorting the image is dangerous. A camera is like a mirror reflecting reality. So the act of manipulating the video is, inversely, an attempt to erode reality. Even if nothing has happened yet, it will soon have an impact on reality.”
Is the distortion of the video just a trailer?
Seo In-na’s explanation continued.
“It’s likely an anima again, but I can’t be sure. It’s not that there aren’t monsters that distort the video… Maybe the North Koreans are joking around. After somehow breaking through the barrier and casting spells, we’ll see how our side responds.”
“Do you even do that?”
“It could be. For that reason, this case needs to be dealt with ASAP. That’s why I’m sending you.”
I nodded.
Next, Seo In-na called Kwon Tae-soo, who was in the office.
“Grandpa! Grandpa is going too. you know?”
“I know. Doesn’t the army take only me every day?”
“It’s because Grandpa is close with the people there.”
Then Kwon Tae-soo grumbled but quietly stood up from his seat.
“Then go. Where is the troop?”
“… It’s in Gangwon-do.”
“Ah, here you are. I see.”
We set off immediately to the scene of the incident.
Deep in the mountains of Gangwon-do.
And as we went further into it, we soon saw a civilian control line.
Did they say that from here on, you have to follow the military guide?
So I parked the vehicle I was riding in and got out of the car.
Soon after, the guide appeared.
It was a grey-haired man in his 50s, a soldier with the rank of sergeant.
Looking at the nameplate on the chest, the name is Choi Soo-hyeok.
He reacted first, looking at Kwon Tae-soo, who was next to me, rather than me.
“Aye, brother. Long time no see. I haven’t seen you in a while, and you seem to have gotten younger.”
“Empty words. How have you been?”
“I am always the same. What would a soldier be like?”
Two people chatting and saying hello.
As Seo In-na said, that sergeant seemed to have a close relationship with Kwon Tae-soo.
“By the way, has the person in charge changed? Where is the girl who is called Seo In-na going?”
Choi Soo-hyeok looked at me and said.
“It’s not that the person in charge has changed, it’s that the number of team members has increased. This person is in charge of this case.”
“Oh yeah? The name… ”
“My name is Inspector Kang Jin-woo. Please speak comfortably.”
Then he exchanged a brief greeting with me.
I heard that he was the chief sergeant of this division.
“Then come this way. Can you stay away from me here?”
“I know everything. I have been several times.”
“But didn’t you act on your own every time?”
While arguing with Kwon Tae-soo, he picked us up in a military vehicle painted in national colors.
It’s not the Retona series I’ve seen often, but a vehicle that has only changed its color to an ordinary van.
Kwon Tae-soo and Choi Soo-hyeok and I got into the car and went inside the control line.
“By the way, where should I go?”
where are you from
The quest arrow was not visible for some reason.
So I decided to check the basics first.
“I want to check the video first.”
“Um, I see.”
after a while like that.
Our vehicle drove into a military base where soldiers were on guard.
A tall gray wall and a watchtower rising above it.
And even the barbed wire around it.
Seeing that, I realized that I had finally entered the realm of the military.
Is that why?
My heart felt tight.
“… … ”
On the other hand, the military base was a plain shabby place, as is usually the case with military bases.
A few old container buildings, and one that looks fine.
And Choi Soo-hyeok led us into the building that looked fine.
But in the meantime, the number of people visible was very small.
“There aren’t many soldiers?”
“I sent everything out. Wouldn’t it be nice if there were a lot of people?”
The word that we are coming seems to have bitten someone in advance.
Then he put us in front of the computer.
“Then you can watch the video with this. A brief description of the situation was also included in the file. I’ll be waiting outside, so if you have any questions, call me, bro.”
Choi Soo-hyeok said that and immediately left the room.
I looked back and opened my mouth.
“Isn’t that the exorcist?”
“You’re asking something obvious.”
“Because leaving is so natural.”
“That guy hasn’t done it once or twice. Will you be friends with me for nothing?”
At Kwon Tae-soo’s words, I nodded.
His exorcist career spans over 20 years.
He explained that there are soldiers who have been in constant contact with the military and have become accustomed to the exorcism police investigation method here and there in the unit.
“Then let’s start with the video.”
The video in question was saved as a video file on the computer.
I played one of them.
Soon after, the scenery of the iron fence lit up with lights came into view.
Recorded time… 7 days ago, 2 am.
“… … ”
I quietly stared at the video.
For the first few seconds, the video is motionless, as if it were frozen.
But soon one of the lights that lit up the barbed wire began to flicker like a broken fluorescent lamp.
after a few minutes like that.
The blinking stopped just before a soldier appeared in the video to check the lighting.
Looking at the explanation of the situation organized together, the soldier who went to the scene at this time said that he did not see the lights flickering.
And after that, the same phenomenon didn’t happen until the next day.
“This alone is ambiguous.”
“Iknow, right.”
So I played the next video.
There are about 10 videos in total, and they were all taken in the last week.
When I checked them, the abnormal phenomenon that occurred was not one or two.
The lights flickered or turned off, and the video was distorted as if the camera was broken.
Also, the phenomenon was getting worse day by day.
Even in the video two days ago, a figure like a black shadow could be seen under the turned off lights.
“Hey, that’s a problem.”
Kwon Tae-soo, who had been quiet until now, said that.
“Is it a problem?”
“Didn’t he finally show up? There’s nothing to notice now. Maybe in the next video there will be something worse. Try it.”
At his words, I played the most recent video file, i.e., taken this morning.
The beginning is, of course, the scenery of an ordinary barbed wire fence.
But soon, a distinctly different sense of incongruity settled in him.
“Who is it?”
From the start, someone was there.
In the darkness where the light of the bright iron fence barely shines through, on the other side of the blackened iron fence.
Inside, he stood still, staring at the barbed wire fence.
Eventually, the black shadow slowly walked into the light.
The identity of the black figure finally revealed was a certain soldier.
Wearing a tattered military uniform and wearing a black bulletproof helmet, his face was unrecognizable.
He then walked right up to the barbed wire fence, grabbed the barbed wire, and shook it.
Then the barbed wire shook as if it would be pulled out at any moment.
From there, the video suddenly returned to normal.
“… It must be an order, right?”
After checking the video, I came to that conclusion.
At this, Kwon Tae-soo nodded slowly.
“I think it was probably left over at 6.25. The han left at that time became a spirit after accumulating karma for decades.”
“Does this happen often?”
“It’s a little less these days, but it used to be a lot. At that time, one or two people died.”
Tsk tsk, clicking his tongue, Kwon Tae-soo continued.
“Such a soldier’s anima usually dwells in a medium. It means that I am bound by my ashes and relics, not by the earthly spirit.”
“Are you saying it has nothing to do with the land?”
“Isn’t this a foreign country that the soldier didn’t even know the name of? If such a soldier left behind… Usually I just want to go back to my hometown.”
Kwon Tae-soo said as if he was familiar with this kind of incident.
It looks like you’ve done a lot of similar things.
So I continued to ask him.
“Then how do you deal with this?”
“First, you need to confirm your affiliation.”
“Do you belong?”
“If you’re on our side, it’d be nice to take care of ashes and keepsakes if possible.”
be on our side
It must be referring to the ROK or UN forces at the time.
“Is it not on our side?”
“Of course, I have to cut off the spirit’s head as soon as possible. Aren’t the Reds causing a nuisance even though they’re being searched for?”
Is it like that?
Then, if possible, the reds would be better.
However, it was not possible to confirm exactly which soldier belonged to the soldier from the video alone.
Of course, the image from the camera is distorted and the quality is reduced.
It was because the military uniform was dark and discolored.
I guess I’ll have to see for myself to tell the difference.
After analyzing the video, we headed straight to the iron fence, the site of the incident.
but,
“… There is nothing.”
No special clues were found in the vicinity of the iron fence in question, nor in the camera.
But it wasn’t strange.
Anomalies were found in cameras between midnight and 5 am.
Also, the quest’s arrow still wasn’t pointing anywhere.
This means that you have to wait for some time.
I guess I’ll have to visit this fence after midnight.
I conveyed that meaning to Kwon Tae-soo, and Kwon Tae-soo told Choi Soo-hyeok about it.
“Is it morning?”
“okay. Would that be possible?”
“of course. The unit has been in trouble lately because of that.”
Rumors of ghosts appearing on the base are spreading, he said.
It was no surprise.
The camera showed such a video, and because of that, the unit was called to the emergency room, but in fact, no one was there.
Rather, it would be strange that nothing came out.
“Okay. You slept all day.”
“Then let’s do this.”
After that, I briefly gave the direction of the investigation to Kwon Tae-soo and Choi Soo-hyeok.
First of all, Kwon Tae-soo and I waited at the guard post near the iron fence from 11:00 p.m.
And Choi Soo-hyeok decided to directly monitor the camera and notify us via radio when there is something wrong with the video.
A few hours later, well past midnight.
“… It’s cold.”
I was waiting for an anomaly to occur at an old outpost that was no longer in use.
And next to me was Kwon Tae-soo.
“Being like this makes me think of the old days.”
He said it as if he was reminiscing about something long ago, but it was already 1:30 in the morning.
But still, looking at the silent radio, I opened my mouth.
“It won’t come out today, right?”
“I won’t. It was like that yesterday… You will probably see it in real life today, not just on video.”
“Then, wouldn’t that man named Choi Soo-hyuk be sleeping?”
“Huh, that’s a possibility.”
As I was making such a silly joke, I finally heard a voice from the walkie-talkie.